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state epidemiologist
A T R U E TA L E
At the conclusion of his first year of medical school at the University of
Rochester, Dale Morse, MD, MS, spent the summer on a Navajo Indian
reservation investigating disease patterns. He enjoyed epidemiology so much
that as a fourth year medical student he set
up his own four-week elective at a county
health department “just to see what people
in public health do.” Serendipitously, he
happened to be there when two important
health issues emerged. The first was a small
outbreak of an allergic reaction among
children to a dye in popular “tattoos” they
bought. The second was a huge community
outbreak of giardiasis, a gastrointestinal illness caused by a parasite found in water.
The giardiasis outbreak was so serious that a
team from the Centers for Disease Control
Dale L. Morse, MD, MS
and Prevention (CDC) came up from Atlanta
to investigate. The Epidemic Intelligence
Service (EIS) officer on the scene asked Dr. Morse if he wanted to help with
the investigation. After that experience, he knew he would be an epidemiologist.
After graduating from medical school, Dr. Morse interned in internal medicine,
and then joined the CDC as an EIS officer. Upon completing his residency,
he joined the New York State Department of Health. Except for “sabbaticals”
at Harvard to earn his master’s in epidemiology, and a year as a consultant
for the British government at their
“Working through a disaster is
communicable disease surveillance
like transitioning from working
center in London, he spent the next
20 years at the New York State
on a general medical floor to
Department of Health as an epia busy hospital emergency
demiologist, rising through the
room. You’re doing some of
ranks from Assistant Bureau
the same things you might do
Director to Director of Infectious
in your routine as an epidemiDisease, to his current position as
ologist, but everything is
Director, Office of Science and
Public Health.
intensely time-driven.”
the pfizer guide > state epidemiologist 129
State
Epidemiologist
Checkpoint
Do you
enjoy solving
difficult
and involved
puzzles?
Would you
find it exciting
to track down
the cause of
infectious
disease outbreaks?
Would you
enjoy the
challenge of
working
through a
public health
disaster?
If so, read on